A.M. Roundup: Capital Region gets an early Christmas gift from the REDC

Good morning! The Capital Region was a “top finisher” in the state’s latest round of Regional Economic Development Council awards, bringing home $85 million in grants and tax credits for dozens of projects. An Albany Water Board sewer project received the biggest chunk of the local funds, $5 million. See herefor a list of the winning projects statewide.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in New York City today. Read on for more:

With the state facing a multi-billion dollar budget deficit, do the 7-year-old REDC awards have a secure future? Development czar Howard Zemsky thinks so: “It’s so fundamental to the way we do economic development now,” he said. (TU)

In remarks at the awards show, Cuomo again spoke out against the federal tax legislation, saying it will be “devastating” for New York. (NY Public Radio)

Taking questions from the press at the Capitol for the first time since June, Cuomo gave a testy response to New York State Public Radio’s Karen DeWitt’s question on sexual harassment policy, suggesting that she was doing a “disservice to women” by focusing on state government’s response to sexual harassment and assault, rather than posing a question about society as a whole. Later the governor sought to clarify his earlier remarks, saying he meant to flip the question around to focus on what the state plans to do about harassment in all realms. (CapCon, TU)

On the topic of the FBI probe of Executive Chamber hiring practices, he said: “You know as much as I know.” (NYSoP)

Cuomo has released the first proposalof his 2018 State of the State platform: that people convicted of a domestic violence crime — felony or misdemeanor — may no longer own a gun of any sort. (TU)

Congressional Republicans have reached a deal on their tax package. The bill still scales back some popular tax breaks, including the state and local tax deduction and the deductibility of mortgage interest. (NYT)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, feeling pretty good after the Democrats’ win in Alabama, got nowhere with a call for Senate Republicans to delay the tax vote until Senator-elect Doug Jones can be sworn in. (Hearst)

Schumer filed a police report on Tuesday after a fake document surfaced alleging that the senator had sexually harassed a staff member. (NYT)

The FCC is expected to vote this morning on whether to repeal net neutrality. State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman again called on the FCC to delay its vote, saying that the identities of two million Americans were stolen and used fraudulently to submit comments to the FCC on the issue. (WP, DN)

Cuomo signed legislation requiring judges to award attorneys’ fees to litigants who “substantially prevail” in Freedom of Information Law cases. The bill was one of six that Cuomo signed on Wednesday; here’s the full list. (TU, CapCon)

Joe Percocoand some co-defendants were in federal court on Wednesday to enter pleas of not guilty. (Politico)

After getting approval for a $38.5 million state bailout to pay its lenders, SUNY Poly’s real estate arm will have a 2017-2018 budget surplus of $313,359. (TU)

The state Department of Financial Services announced rules that bar insurance companies from charging more for drivers based on their occupation or level of education. (TU)

While in Buffalo last month for a $1,000-per-ticket campaign fundraiser, Cuomo slipped out to attend an even more exclusive fundraiser with a dozen or so out-of-state executives from affordable housing development companies. (BN)

And have you gotten your flu shot yet? Health officials are predicting a bad year, and unvaccinated health workers have been directed to wear masks around patients. (TU)

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Akum Norder

19 Responses

“Schumer filed a police report on Tuesday after a fake document surfaced alleging that the senator had sexually harassed a staff member”
Why is President Trump being held to a higher standard? Schumer needs to resign immediately. Even crying sensitive men are capable of sexual harassment. :)

“The staff member who was named in the document as the plaintiff, and who no longer works for Mr. Schumer, told The New York Times on Wednesday that the harassment claims were ‘completely false.'” <— That's one reason why.

At least one of Trump’s accusers has already been debunked. A fellow passenger who sat opposite her on the plane said it never happened. And yet that still doesn’t prevent the press from acting like it really happened. In today’s environment guilty/innocent has nothing to do with it. This is the modern day Salem Witch trials.

The governor certainly is a prolific fundraiser. What is it about him that inspires so many businesses to give him money? Could it be that they expect a handsome return on their investments? Cuomo’s staff vehemently denies any quid pro quo. They say it is ridiculous to even suggest that a contribution could influence the letting of state contracts. Supposing this to be true, all those businessmen (and women) must be really stupid investing so much money from which they can expect no return. It’s no wonder our economy is in the tank with this level of incompetence in the business community.

Requiring judges to award legal fees in FOIL cases it a small positive step toward transparency. It’s affects will be felt primarily by local goverments for whom legal fees are a substantial burden. State agencies on the other hand are left immune to any negative impact of losing a FOIL case. The state’s resources are vast and the appointees and civil service employees making the decisions to withhold embarassing information never have to face the voters. What we need is a way to hold decision makers responsible.

things that have made my day:
1- Pundits on the radio who indicate Trumps harassment issues are in the past, we not done on the job and are a personal matter, but are a made up by the liberal mafia
2- Pundits on the radio who say “no one wants the opinion of Jimmy Kimmel or any actor”, not here is my opinion!
3-the fiasco of employing Omarosa is trumped by the fiasco or her firing!
4-Happy Hanukkah!

I didn’t know there was a statute of limitations on sexual harassment and sexual assault. Those charges may be still pending against Mr. Trump and actionable when he leaves office and returns to New York City or whatever prison he is assigned to when convicted of money laundering and treason.

Andy The Infallible will lay blame for the FY2018-19 budget deficit on the federal tax reform legislation. It has nothing to do with his magnificent economic stimulation gimmicks that he personally designed to restore prosperity, especially in upstate New York.

Sadly, I think (absent something new) the Trump accusations should be left in the past. We all knew precisely who he was on Election Day.
Let those who voted for him anyway understand that they have damaged the office of the Presidency, and created a new low for barriers to entry for anyone choosing to seek the office. While they crow about family values, and returning America to the God-fearing nation it allegedly once was.